A man facing allegations he abducted and raped a 19-year-old girl will return to the Waigani District Court on Oct 28 after he asked the court for more time to draft his submissions.
The man, whose identity will be withheld in this report, had been appearing in court since his arrest in March. He is related to the victim's mother and is known to the victim.
He told the court he gave instructions to his lawyer to file submissions to respond to the police investigation files however, that was not done when he went to court last Friday.
Arrested and charged with sexual penetration, abduction and deprivation of liberty, the man went to the home of the victim on March 19 this year looking for her older brother,whom he claimed he had some problems with.
It was there that he told the victim and her other two sisters to get in the car with him and go find their brother.
Armed with a flare gun, the girls obliged to his demands and got on the vehicle, where they drove to 17-Mile outside Port Moresby. This was where he allegedly raped the 19-year-old girl twice.
The police statement of facts before the court said the victim was taken behind a mountain and later a house, where she was raped while her sisters and the man's friends waited in the vehicle.
The girls were brought back home that same day and later reported the incident to police.
The man, upon his arrest, admitted to committing the offense during interrogation by police.
He has been denied police bail and has been appearing in court from custody at Bomana.